A waste working group for Barrow borough council has found what it described as some “unacceptable issues” with the waste service provided by contractor FCC Environment.
But, FCC has noted that the quality of the materials for recycling have to be good quality in the first place.
Issues
The Cumbria town of Barrow-in-Furness. (Picture copyright: Neil Mitchell, Shutterstock)
A report for the council’s overview and scrutiny committee on July 5 highlighted the “continuing amount” of contaminated recycling material being rejected at FCC’s materials recovery facility (MRF).
And, it referred to “unacceptable issues relating to the timely collection of fly-tips and the service provided to residents on the assisted list”.
In March, April and May 2018, 563 tonnes of recycling material was contaminated – equivalent to 67% of the total mixed recycling collected, the document notes. In 2017/18 there had been 2,100 tonnes of contamination which was 54% of mixed recycling.
According to the committee report, the figures show that efforts to reduce the level of contamination have been “clearly ineffective”.
Members of the group appointed to oversee the service provided by FCC visited the firm’s MRF in Barrow to observe vehicle offloading and the picking process.
Although contamination was visible it was “significantly less” than the 50% figures being quoted, the report says.
Reasons
Reasons for the elevated tonnages of contamination included “whole loads being rejected if the contamination was deemed to be more than 10%, recycling being rejected because it was contained within plastic bags and recycling passing through the picking line without being segregated”.
Members also observed “large items” of polythene sheeting and it was “unclear” how this contamination had been placed in the bins without being observed by the operatives, the group said.
According to the report, the recycling of plastic had a “significant effect” on the levels of contamination and, the type of plastic that was permissible for collection by FCC had changed from the previous contract.
After observing the collection of materials by two crews, members of the working group identified that there was inconsistencies regarding the removal of contamination by FCC operatives. It was also found that some residents “don’t understand what can’t be recycled”.
The report also notes issues with the “timely collection of fly-tips” and higher number of reported missed bins not collected.
The findings followed a ‘settling in’ period at the start of the contract, which started in April 2017.
Campaign
When contacted by letsrecycle.com, Graham Harrison, FCC general manager said: “It is a reality that in order for the materials we recycle to be good enough to actually be made into something new, it has to be good quality in the first place. And contamination of recycling is an issue we face up and down the country, it’s not just an issue in Barrow. So we really need residents to help us by putting the right things in the right bins then we can ensure real recycling happens.
“It is a reality that in order for the materials we recycle to be good enough to actually be made into something new, it has to be good quality in the first place.”
Graham Harrison
FCC Environment
“We will be running an awareness campaign in the coming months to help residents to recycle the right things and the council website is a great source of information if residents are not sure what to pop in the bin. If we all work together on this we can make improvements that really will make a difference to our environment.”
Alan Barker, Streetcare manager for the borough, told letsrecycle.com that the council had been monitoring the service and “working very closely” with the contractor to address the issues.
Landfill
Earlier this year FCC was granted permission by Cumbria county council to extend the life of the Bennet Bank landfill site at Hawthwaite Lane in Barrow, by two years to December 2019.
The site was previously operated by Shanks.
According report for the council’s development control and regulation committee from January, currently Bennett Bank has approximately 78,000m³ (approx. 93,000 tonnes) of void space remaining.
It was noted that the volume of waste to landfill has “fallen dramatically” due to pre-treatment facilities coming on stream and recycling initiatives being implemented.
“On current input rates of 40,000 tonnes per annum it would take in the region of 2 years to complete and achieve the appropriate landform for restoration,” the report said.
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Source: letsrecycle.com Waste Managment
